Premise

Super Mutants and the New Unity

West-Tek and the Enclave's greatest sin was perhaps the creation and distribution of FEV and their development and eventual release of the Super Mutants. The remnants of these crimes against sanity allowed for the accidental creation of "the Master". The Master proved to be brilliant and mad in equal measure... the incomplete circle of insane logic leading him to create a vast army of Super Mutants and various other horrors to serve as the vanguards of his "Unity". Thankfully for humanity the Master was destroyed with the vast majority of his assets and human followers. His army... wandered west... and scattered.

The Brotherhood of Steel would later encounter and destroy remnants of this army attempting to cure Super Mutant sterility as they explored eastward... and later would discover new cadres of Super Mutants emerging from various experimental vaults and labs. Whilst these Super Mutants would continue to threaten local populations throughout the east coast of the United States... they would not have the sophistication or intelligence of the Master's former army.

Unbeknownst to the Brotherhood of Steel... survivors from the Master's Army not only went eastward, but also north through the wilderness of Washington, Montana, and North Dakota... eventually settling within a massive military facility north of Minnesota. This facility was quickly re-dubbed "Zion"... it's original purpose as command and control for US forces invading and occupying annexed Canada lost to history. With a new home, the Super Mutants of Zion began researching a cure for their sterility, much as others had before them.

By 2260 the Super Mutants of Zion managed to create a new strain of modified FEV. This strain has a much higher success rate than traditional FEV at converting humans into Super Mutants and can be transmitted by blood transfusion. This breakthrough allowed the Super Mutants to easily create new recruits from captured humans by transfusing their own blood into the captives. The downside of this new version of FEV was that the virus could no longer infect non-humans. For other mutated creatures the Super Mutants still rely on cultivating what little of the original FEV they still have and exposure to radiation.

The new society of Zion is class based, with standard Super Mutants acting as hunters, scavengers, laborers, and even farmers... beneath them are human slaves who are deemed unfit to become Super Mutants. Above these classes are the "Masters", who are simply Super Mutants with superior intelligence and act as Zion's scientists, engineers, and commanders. Masters often keep small groups of humans as "pets" who are well cared for and are valued for their expertise. Such "pets" eventually are transformed into Super Mutants but are being kept intact because of some pressing need for their particular skills. Above even the Masters are the newest form of Super Mutants... the "Overlords" of which there are extremely few.

Overlords are the result of cloning new Super Mutants within incubators using source material from Masters and additional samples of FEV... and most attempts result in deformed and non-viable fetuses. When successful though, this process produces Super Mutants with intelligence surpassing the abilities of any ordinary human being and often exhibiting telepathic talents. The Overlords are often physically weak by Super Mutant standards, but they can instantly control the minds of their lesser brethren and thus are guaranteed to remain in command of any cadre.

Today, Zion is finally pushing forward and claiming territory to the south... part of a grand design by their new leader "Jenghis". Jenghis is of course an Overlord, but his capacity for long distance telepathic communication is unprecedented. Using his superior abilities he is able to coordinate the Super Mutant army like never before, and he has obtained the loyalty of all other Overlords through his intellect, charm, and ruthlessness.

Indeed... the armies of Zion are now far better prepared than the Master's army ever was... they have an elite core armed with the best weapons of the pre-war US Army, a limited array of working motor vehicles, and a vast horde of Super Mutants armed with typical salvaged gear. If not checked soon by another major power the mutants of Zion may well achieve the dream of the Master... the extinction of the human race.

The New California Republic

Borne out of heroic events of 2162 and the defeat of the Master's Super Mutant Army... the communities of California would begin to coalesce around "Shady Sands" into the New California Republic. By the year 2275 the NCR is a powerful nation that is expanding into the Nevada, living within its borders would not have been unlike living within the United States western expanse during the 1860's... a frontier, but one with an established veneer of law and civility.

As the NCR continued to expand, they would eventually run into Las Vegas, run by the enigmatic Mr. House and his army of Securitrons as well as another burgeoning civilization, Caesar's Legions. The NCR and Caesar's Legions would become embroiled in a lengthy struggle for power in the Mojave desert over control of Hoover Dam. While the exact details that would lead to the NCR's victory over the Legions remains unclear, the outcome of those events in 2281 are clear by 2307.

Today the NCR controls much of the West Coast and eastward right up to the Hoover Damn, but not further, New Vegas remains in the control of a cabal of crime-lords who somehow managed to eliminate Mr. House and gain rudimentary control over his army of Securitrons. East of the Hoover Dam lays the raider and barbarian occupied lands of what was once Caesar's Legions, which is no longer a unified force. The NCR doesn't directly occupy lands north of California, but the many communities of Oregon and Washington trade with the NCR and have adopted it's legal code as their own, in exchange for the NCR military occasionally making forays into their lands to eliminate large scale threats. Perhaps most importantly, the Hoover Dam does not operate anywhere near it's full capacity and the war for it's control is seen as a cruel waste of manpower and energy. The people of the NCR are prospering and largely content to live without the glittering promises the Hoover Dam once represented to them, whilst their politicians and military continue to smart at their failure to make good on those promises.

Of special note, the Mohave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel was granted citizenship after their efforts to aid the NCR in the last battles with Caesar's Legion... in exchange though, their order technically disbanded, whilst they were rolled into the NCR military as a special operations groups dubbed "The Steel Corps". Today the unit operates as a unique blend of Brotherhood traditions and technology within the NCR military bureaucracy and admittance to it's ranks is a highly prestigious honor.

As time marches forward the NCR's various political factions continue to vie for power and scheme to expand the Republic's borders to the North and East where-ever possible, but are only willing to do so for a limited cost in blood and wealth.

The Brotherhood of Steel

The Brotherhood of Steel has had a long and some would say "heroic" history. Unfortunately their victories over Super Mutants, the Enclave, the Institute, and others has only reaffirmed their arrogance and sense of superiority over the common people, whilst their defeats in the West at the hands of the NCR and their failures in the DC area to truly win hearts and minds has made them cynical.

Today, the Brotherhood loosely controls territory stretching from Washington DC, north into the southernmost borders of the Commonwealth. Within those territories the Brotherhood has built and maintains a series of "Castles" or bunkers that they use to exert their influence, whilst their small fleet of a dozen or less Airships maintains supply routes amongst them. Communities surrounding these castles are treated akin to serfs or peasant villages of medieval times and are pressed for food and recruits as needed in exchange for their defense... whether they agree to this or not. Some communities effectively worship the Brotherhood knights as demi-gods and benefactors who slay mighty beasts, whilst others see the situation for what it really is... one of extortion and exploitation.

With their power-base secure, many Brotherhood castles are content to lord over their local subjects and only the ambitions of their elders and scribes continues to push them in their mission to obtain new technologies and horde special resources. This status quo however, is becoming increasingly untenable for the Brotherhood as they have begun to meet greater resistance from community militias that they border, such as the Commonwealth. Even more alarming, some expeditions by Brotherhood forces have begun reporting rumors of a restored "Enclave" to the north-west and of a strange force to the south approaching their territory called "the Centuriate". Whilst it is unclear exactly what the future holds for the Brotherhood, it is certain that any who seek to dethrone the steel lords from their castles is in for a fight.

The Enclave of the "RSA"

The Enclave has suffered little but defeat and shame in it's long history with the NCR, Brotherhood of Steel, and others, but after several decades of licking their wounds the "reformed" Enclave is ready to emerge as a national powerhouse once again.

After the disastrous events surrounding Project Purity and the destruction of Raven Rock in 2277 what forces that remained of the Enclave began a harrowing journey north and west. As these survivors traveled, they scoured the wasteland for hidden Enclave and US military caches, in preparation for their ultimate destination... Detroit and a secret facility known as "WT-01X".

WT-01X was built under Detroit by the US military in collaboration with the West-Tek corporation as a next-generation and fully automated factory for the manufacture of combat robots, vehicles, and most importantly, powered armor. The Enclave had always been privy to the existence of this facility, but the destruction of Detroit in the Great War meant that it was most likely that the facility was inaccessible. The Enclave had always assumed it would one day excavate the site, but it was never a priority. With their defeat in the Capital Wasteland the remnants of the Enclave chose to gamble that they could gain access to the fabled site and begin the work of their restoration.

Thankfully for the Enclave this gamble paid off, and upon arrive to Detroit they found that the radiation had subsided enough that they could indeed operate (in Powered Armor and Hazmat Suits) in the area. After years of excavation work they were able to gain access to the vast facility beneath the city. Within the facility the Enclave has been able to rebuild, utilizing it's manufacturing wings to produce large numbers of X-01 Power Armor, Assaultrons, Security Bots, and myriad vehicles. Just as importantly, the Enclave used their knowledge of Vault-Tec experiments to implement various new technologies such as efficient hydroponics, cloning, and virtual reality based training and indoctrination.

Today, the facility (which was already vast) has been expanded into a veritable city-fortress and sustains a fairly large population. Furthermore, the Enclave no longer has "recruitment" issues, as they now kidnap and indoctrinate local civilians and even clone their best officers. In recent years the facility has come to be known as the "Reformed State of America" and continues to expand under the radioactive rubble of Detroit. No doubt, if the Enclave were to launch a full scale assault there are few individual factions that would be able to weather such an attack.

Regardless, the Enclave remains secretive and its security is somewhat tenuous... to their northwest there are alarming reports of vast forces of Super Mutants, to their south east the burgeoning Commonwealth and the Brotherhood of Steel could easily become potent foes... and the Enclave is in no rush to repeat the mistakes of the past... they are neither seeking immediate conflict, nor do they seem intent on any genocidal agendas... but time will tell.

The Legions of Caesar and the Centuriate

The American southwest was once a barbaric assortment of tribes and survivalists... and then came "Caesar". Using his superior knowledge of history, philosophy, medicine, and military tactics he eventually conquered dozens if not hundreds of these tribal bands and brutally molded them into his "Legions". The pseudo Roman force attempted to expand in all directions and only stalled in the south east by various fortified communities and in the west by the NCR. Caesar decided to put his main efforts into conquering Hoover Dam and hoped to make New Vegas his "Rome". He failed.

In fact, the failure of Caesar to take Hoover Dam would be but the first blow to the Legions, as Caesar himself would die of illness not long afterwards. In the following decade a period of intercine warfare would erupt amongst the various Legionary forces. Some forces wanted to return to their tribal roots, some were commanded by ambitious brutes who sought the ultimate mantle of power, and others, were desperate to maintain the order that the Legions had brought. Ultimately this power vacuum would destroy the Legion's unity and in the southwest today there exists bands of independent tribal communities, as well as "Legionary" tribes that maintain small fiefdoms. It is a region of constant shifting loyalties and small scale warfare... and divided as such they pose little threat to the Mojave communities and the NCR as a whole.

In the southeast of the Legion's territory however, a different outcome prevailed. Here, the Legions were fighting a bitter war against communities that were heavily fortified and successfully employing some advanced technology (robots, the occasional suit of powered armor, etc.). Traditional Legion tactics had failed to break these communities, and as Caesar's attentions had wandered and then disappeared, the desperate commanders began to "amend" their tactics. With each community conquered the south eastern Legions took on their people as recruits and the character of their army changed... adding more sophisticated weaponry and technology to their innate brutality.

In the coming years, as the south east fell under Legion sway, news of Caesar's death and the in-fighting slowly reached the region. Soon, it became clear that the Western Legions were faltering and "devolving". Amongst the southeastern Legion, order had been maintained, not least because they had conquered such fertile and well defended positions... and before rivalries and disorder could begin, a strong and charismatic leader emerged amongst them... this would be "Octavian" (who some say is a former member of the Enclave).

Octavian declared unilaterally that their army and it's lands were no longer "Caesar's Legions" and that while they honored Caesar... his death proved that his was the blood of a man, and not of a god. Octavian then laid out his vision for their own independent "Legion" which he dubbed the "Centuriate"... where the virtues of brutal obedience and strength would be honored, but that also, recognition of service, rational use of technology, and the will of it's subordinates would be counted. Octavian established a military oligarchy where Centurion ranked soldiers could obtain political appointments after a period of service, and were granted the right to vote for their a supreme leader... the Imperator, upon the old Imperator's death.

Today this "Centuriate" has grown quite strong and is providing a more sustainable system of governance than the original Legions. Slavery exists, but has limited terms, civilians are granted a modicum of freedoms, but anything approaching criticism is met with brutal repression. Military service provides the only method to obtain higher office, the right to own a business, or vote... ensuring a healthy supply of recruits. Militarily the Centuriate can be said to be a "Hybrid" model between elite forces employing the best equipment such as the BoS or Enclave, and the previous Raider-like Legionaries. It is not unusual to see a group of ten or twenty Legionaries, armed with rifles and axes charging an enemy, but supporting them may also be Protectrons and a Centurion in T51B Power Armor wielding a Flamer!

As the Centuriate has been prospering for nearly twenty years, it's leaders now feel that it's "consolidation" is complete and have begun to aggressively reconnoiter lands north and east of them... as far as Maryland, Virginia, and Illinois...